Dra En Educaciòn

WHOLE LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY


Whole Language has a profound influence on public school teaching, concerning education in America. “Education in the United States is marketed by a continuing pursuit of literacy. Teachers of reading are in an unending struggle to help each child become an independent reader. There are still thousands of children without adequate ability in reading. There are some23 to 30 million adults who are functionally illiterate” (Dechant, Emerald 1993, 8). In effect, whole language needs to be explained through its philosophy, its meaning, the comparison with intensive phonics program, and its consequences.
Philosophy as a subject of study is the base of education. “Progressivism as an educational theory arose as a definite reaction against traditional educationwith Dewey, which had emphasized in methods of instruction, mental learning, and literary classics of Western civilization” (Cremin, Lawrence 1964, 104). According to this statement, Dewey develops a pragmatic philosophy against traditional education, but this was the beginning of the educational crisis in America because of the liberalism inside the classrooms without authority. In effect, Deweywas the intellectual representative of progressivism, and the educational declination through liberal education. He had well known followers such as Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Jean Jaques Rousseau. They implemented some progressive concepts and procedures as part of reading and writing. Dewey also received great support from Mrs. Goodman who wrote: “Whole language is a new response to an oldargument, a movement of new education or progressive schools that it was a product of disconnect with traditional education” (Goodman, Kenneth 1991, 387). Whole language for Goodman is a combination of science, humanistic educational and social philosophy, where students learn through their experiences. Her goal was to let teachers grow to their full potential by resisting, ignoring, or gettingaround pressures that came from standardized tests.
There are different points of view regarding whole language. “Whole Language is a philosophy of teaching that encourages students to listen, speak, read and write by building upon the language and experiences of the child” (Carrasquillo, Angela L. 1994, 118). Furthermore, whole language is not a method. It is a philosophy, where students learnby immersion. It is presented as a comprehensive program to literacy where language is probably the most extreme form of look-say. Therefore, must guess the meaning of the words without a true understanding of the alphabet and its symbolic representation. Students and teachers have a clear function. Teachers have a role of “facilitators”; their effort is centered in the child´s desires. Thedeveloping of the child depends entirely on games. Also, the teacher´s perspectives of the child´s abilities influence their achievements. “The attitudes teachers have about their own experience are also important. A teacher who loves books will see that children have experience with books” (Rye, J. 1983, 13). For example, teachers promote classroom interactions, self-perception discoveries, and theconstruction of new concepts. On the other hand, student role in whole language is to work cooperatively, respond to the stimulation, and discover the meanings of the words. The meaning of the whole language and students’ and teachers’ roles are an essential part in order to recognize this philosophy. Finally, to understand this viewpoint even further we must review what Newman has to say. “Heidentifies the assumptions of this language approach as follows: 1) Children are expected to learn naturally. 2) Learning is more emphasized than teaching. 3) Children read and write every day. 4) Reading, writing, and oral language are not considered separate components of the curriculum. 5) There is no division between first learning to read and later reading to learn” (Newman, Judith 1988, 118)....